Rescued
by emmylouuwho
Summary: Post 5.6. The events of the day catch up with Jess, and Abby is there to give her some advice. Jess/Abby friendship.


**Author's Note:** So after about three weeks of writer's block (which is weird for me 'cause I usually write something every day) my brain is finally cooperating. Of course it's still like, 'Stories you're already working on? Hell no! I will only supply you with ideas for new stories.' Anyway, just wanted to deal with the emotional trauma aspect of Jess' experiences in 5.6. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>She could barely keep her eyes open, her hands steady on the steering wheel as she drove home that night. Abby and Connor were still at the ARC, and would take Abby's car home later. As Jess unlocked the door and stepped into the darkened flat, she was grateful for the momentary solitude. She just wanted a hot shower and to fall into her bed for several days. She slipped off her shoes and carried them as she trudged up the stairs, passing through the kitchen and living area, heading straight for her bedroom.<p>

Jess tossed the shoes in her hand into her closet, dumping her bag on the armchair next to it. She pulled off her dress, wanting to be rid of all trace of the events of that day, and slipped on her bathrobe. She had barely made it through the last anomaly alert, where a train had disappeared. The team evacuated all the passengers, and they'd had to destroy it, to avoid contaminating the past. Luckily, most of the people were so shaken up by the experience that it was a simple matter to put everything down to concussions caused by a derailment. As soon as they returned, Matt ordered everyone home. Jess was thankful for that; she wasn't sure if she could ever go back.

As soon as she walked into the bathroom, all her control disappeared, and Jess slid to the floor, leaning back against the closed door. Her breath came in ragged sobs. She couldn't stop herself from reliving the last thirty-six hours. Struggling to organize all the teams and coordinate them all simultaneously. The predators loose in the ARC. Raiding the armory with Lester. _Lester._

Jess pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes until she saw stars, but couldn't erase the image of Lester, the man who was like a father to her, bleeding in her lap. The feeling of her hand pressed against the wound in his side, trying to stop the bleeding.

She had known, absolutely known, that they were going to die. Jess had held onto that EMD for dear life, knowing that this was going to be how she died: at work with the power shut off, her boss bleeding to death on the floor beside her. Killed by a creature that couldn't exist. Shouldn't exist.

By some miracle, they had escaped, Matt, Becker, Abby, and Connor showing up just in time. But what about next time? What if next time Jess wasn't so lucky?

Jess was so caught up in her own thoughts, she didn't hear the front door open; or voices in the kitchen, hurriedly silenced when they heard crying; or the soft knock on the door. What brought Jess back to the present was a gentle hand on her forearm.

"Jess?"

She looked up into concerned blue eyes. Abby was kneeling before her. The door on the other side of the bathroom, leading into Connor and Abby's room, stood ajar; Jess had forgotten to lock it when she came in.

* * *

><p>Abby and Connor were exhausted, but giddy as well with the prospect of a wedding. It probably helped that they had yet to consider any of the actual preparations. They walked into the flat they shared with Jess with smiles on their faces, Connor stifling a yawn against his fist.<p>

"Dibs on the shower," Abby said, grinning when Connor pouted.

He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"What've we got to eat?" he asked, peering in and eyeing the contents dubiously.

Connor and Abby both stopped short at the sound of a muffled sob. It was coming from the back of the flat, where the two bedrooms were connected by a large bathroom. Connor, still holding the refrigerator door open, shot Abby a questioning look. She shrugged a shoulder, and walked toward their bedroom. Their door to the bathroom was closed, and Abby knocked softly.

"Jess? Are you alright?"

There was no answer. Abby knocked again, then tried the doorknob. It was unlocked, and she cracked it open, peering around the door.

Jess sat on the floor, leaning against the door on the opposite wall, dressed in her lime green robe. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, arms crossed on top of them. Her forehead rested on her arms, her hair slightly tangled, and her whole body shook every so often.

Abby softly padded across the tile floor and sank to her knees in front of her friend. She put a hand on her arm and said again, "Jess?"

The younger girl looked up, startled. Her face was red and tearstained, her eyes bloodshot. The normally unflappable Jess looked a mess. But more than that, she was in pain, and Abby's heart clenched at that.

She'd always felt a sort of sisterly protectiveness toward her flatmate. Jess and Connor bonded over their shared obsession with computers, and Abby had begun giving her kickboxing lessons. After what happened when Ethan escaped and kidnapped Emily, Abby wanted Jess to be able to defend herself, from humans at least. She was a natural, and said it was a lot more fun than the ballet lessons she took as a little girl. In short, Jess, Abby, and Connor had become a family over the past year.

* * *

><p>Abby silently moved to sit down beside her, shoulder to shoulder against the wooden door. Despite wanting to be alone, wanting to hide her weakness from the world, Jess felt comforted by the warmth radiating into her arm where Abby leaned against her.<p>

"Is this about Lester? 'Cause the medics said he'll make a full recovery," Abby said after a few moments' silence.

"Yes. No. I mean it _is_ about that, but not about him. Well, sort of, but not. At least not completely." Jess stopped herself, drawing a shuddering breath as she tried to compose her thoughts into something coherent.

"I thought I was going to die today."

The words were simple, but her tone conveyed all the terror she'd felt. She was twenty years old, she shouldn't be having near death experiences. At work. On an almost monthly basis.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore," Jess confessed in a faint whisper, her head dropping onto her crossed arms once more.

"I know how you feel. Felt like that at times myself."

Jess turned her head to the side, still resting on her arms, to look at her friend.

"I find that hard to believe," she said simply. "You're you" - she gestured vaguely at Abby - "and I'm me. Just plain old Jess... You're a lot braver than I am."

Jess' words hung in the air for a minute or two. Then Abby spoke again, staring down at her hands on her knees, fiddling with the fabric of her cargo pants.

"About a year after I started at the ARC, I got taken by a creature. Sort of a really scary walrus. Dunno, Cutter said it was from the future probably. Took me underwater and I ended up in this tank near the anomaly."

Jess nodded. "I remember. I read that file. You fought back, tried to escape. Today, in the ARC, I just froze. The predator was right in front of me, I had an EMD, and I just stood there." She shuddered, closing her eyes at the memory. "That's when Lester... he saved me, and I just stood there."

"Jess, that's not what you're trained for. No one expects that of you."

"You're not trained for it either. That doesn't stop you. You keep going. I just wanted it to be over." She didn't even realize half of what she was saying until she said it aloud. Her emotions were all over the place the last few hours. Part of it she knew was lack of sleep, the other...

"I remember sitting there, and Lester was... and I just thought, 'Let's get this over with.' I didn't want to die. But at the same time, I just wanted to give up, and have it be over, the waiting was just unbearable." She took a deep breath. "I'm not making any sort of sense. Sorry."

Abby chuckled. "Honestly Jess, I get it. The only thing that kept me from giving up when I was in that tank, after I was taken by that creature, was the fact that there was this kid in there with me. Lucien. He wasn't more than fifteen. I just kept telling him that my friends would come for us. Had to put on a brave face for him. I was the professional after all."

Jess sat up straight, half-turning toward her friend, her brow furrowed. "So, that whole time, you were just faking it? For his sake?"

Abby nodded. "I knew that Connor, Cutter, and Stephen would come, that they'd never stop looking for me. But it didn't seem like they'd find us in time."

She arched an eyebrow at Jess as she repeated her words. "And the waiting was unbearable."

Jess had trouble believing the fierce blonde next to her, who faced down unimaginable monsters to protect those she loved, would ever give up. She'd gone through an anomaly against orders twice to do just that, to save people she loved - once to retrieve her brother, Jack; and again earlier that day, to get Connor back after he was pulled into the New Dawn anomaly. Abby was fearless, even as a kid.

Jess tried not to read the personal parts of the ARC employees' files, to respect their privacy. But there was some information she couldn't avoid. She knew about her stepfather; she'd read the police reports. There were several domestic calls made by their neighbors, but Abby's mum never pressed charges. It was right there in Abby Maitland's main file. She was arrested at the age of sixteen for assaulting one Arthur Moore. He was drunk and screaming at fourteen-year old Jack. When he got violent, Abby tried to intervene, and Art backhanded her. Abby broke his nose.

* * *

><p>Abby must've seen some of the disbelief on Jess' face. "Trust me, as soon as it was just my life on the line, I was ready to chuck it in. If only just to save Connor's life. He almost died, trying to keep the creatures from taking me back through the anomaly. Daft idiot," she muttered, smiling fondly.<p>

"That thing took me through the anomaly, and I was sure that was it. Even back then, we didn't go through them, except to send creatures back, or to get our people."

Abby was staring at a middle distance ahead of her, but something in her eyes told Jess she wasn't looking at the polka-dot shower curtain and claw-foot tub. She was lost in her memories, seeing another world, one accessible only through an anomaly.

Jess was silent, not wanting to break the spell that seemed to come over her friend. Abby, though by no means monosyllabic, did not like to share too many personal details. That's why she and Connor were such a good match; they were the very definition of the phrase 'opposites attract.'

"They came to get me - Connor, Cutter, and Stephen. I told Connor to leave me, but he wouldn't. He never does listen."

Jess let out a watery chuckle, and Abby turned to her with a rueful smile.

"I know it takes a while to get your head around an experience like yours," Abby said, pulling herself to her feet. "Just, don't decide to leave us too quickly. Give yourself some time, alright? 'Cause I think you can handle this job."

Jess, who had been silent as Abby made her way to the door, finally spoke.

"Abby?" The blonde turned, her hand on the doorknob. "Thanks."

"Sure." An impish grin spread over her face. "After all, if you leave, I'll lose twenty quid on the pool."

"On the what? Pool for what?"

"The pool Connor started at the ARC, to see when Becker finally makes his move and asks you out."

Jess was on her feet in an instant. "Connor!"


End file.
